It's not easy being green
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When Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced her new Ministry on September 11 she also told of her commitment to addressing climate change, which she has described as a “pivotal issue in Australia”.
In a statement released on her website, PM Julia Gillard said her starting point is that “climate change is real and it is caused to a significant extent by human activity.
“As our economy has grown over the last century, must of that growth has relied on the use of high-polluting energy sources. We know now that if we continue to rely on those sources, the problems they cause will grow,” Ms Gillard said.
The PM concedes the consequences of inaction are, ultimately, threatening our planet. Although the PM promised there wouldn’t be a tax on carbon during her term in office she reacted cautiously to BHP Billiton chief Marius Kloppers’ claim that a price on polluting is inevitable. In response to Mr Kloppers’ comments Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra that Labor supported a market-based mechanism for tackling climate change.
The Federal Member for Charlton, Greg Combet is the minister for climate change and efficiency in the new-look Gillard Government.Mr Combet said dealing with climate change was a key priority for the government. He added that it would also be“a tremendous challenge that demanded careful economic reform”.
Cash for Clunkers is one ALP-led policy designed to ease pressure on the Earth by helping people trade in old vehicles and by putting in place mandatory fuel emission standards for the Australian car fleet. As well as modernizing the car fleet, the Gillard government has announced it will connect the grid to remote sources of renewable energy and support greener buildings and cleaner power stations.
“My priorities in this new portfolio will be to continue the Government’s strong support for renewable energy, to promote greater energy efficiency in industry and households and to work towards the introduction of a carbon price,” Mr Combet said in a statement.
“In the new parliament, climate change policy will require broad consultation and the building of consensus,” he said.
This is especially true given the Labor and the Australian Greens who also support action on climate change, don’t have the numbers in the lower house to introduce a price on carbon.
“I will work hard within this framework to implement Labor’s election commitments in this area. I look forward to working with my Cabinet colleagues and other members of Parliament on this important issue for the nation’s future,” he said.
One of the first tasks on Mr Combets’s to-do list is to establish a cross-party climate change committee to discuss ways to tackle global warming, which was part of the Labor-Greens deal to help the ALP form government.
According to John Connor, CEO of the Climate Institute, the test for the effectiveness of this parliament is whether it can put real limits and a price tag on pollution that turns around still-rising pollution levels by 2013 and enables significant reductions by 2020.
“Alongside a price tag on pollution, The Climate Institute supports urgent action on measures to make clean energy cheaper, reduce energy bills and improve energy productivity,” Mr Connor said.The Climate Institute has welcomed calls from corporate leaders BHP and AGL But the organization has also urged all parties to keep their eye “on the main game of pollution reduction”.
“The pyrotechnics set off by a number of business leaders acknowledging the need for a price tag on pollution has been impressive, but policy responses should ensure Australia’s emissions are going down by 2013 and enable bi-partisan-backed 2020 targets of up to 25 per cent reductions on 2000 levels,” Mr Connor said.
In a statement released on The Climate Institute website Mr Connor said unless our political leaders kept their eyes on the main game, Australia risked continuing to fall behind the emerging clean energy super powers. He said this would undermine the country’s competitiveness in the emerging global low-carbon economy.
“It’s important that this new season of political and business pragmatism not feed staged solutions which defer action across the whole economy,” Connor said.Greens leader Bob Brown said Labor would work with the Greens to deliver improved transparency and integrity to Parliament and pursue policies that promote the national interest and address climate change.
Manager, National Indigenous Conservation Program, at The Wilderness Society Anthony Esposito, says he has welcomed the new Gillard Government, formed with the support of Independents and The Greens, “as a great opportunity for environmental leadership in our country”.
“The surge in support for the Greens across the country shows people want to see action on climate change, nature conservation and other environmental priorities,” Mr Esposito said.
The Wilderness Society is an advocate for environment protection and aims to promote its priorities in the new parliamentary term. These include: ending native forest logging, protecting our unique natural ecosystems and marine environments, supporting Indigenous conservation, stopping the gas hub development in the Kimberley, and securing World Heritage listing for Cape York Peninsula.bnext.com.au understands its members’ concerns with regard to the environment. It’s because of this that the credit union is now offering a new EnviroLoan to those who are determined to be kinder to the planet.
To find out more about the EnviroLoan, contact your local Service Centre or call 1300 654 321.
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